Improvement in harvesters



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,044, dated April 22,1362.

To all whom t may concern: A

Be it known that I, EZEKIEL SMITH, of Cold Spring Harbor, in the countyof Suffolk and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Reciprocating Sickles for Harvesters, and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings," making apart of this specification, in which- Figure l isa plan or top view ofmy invention; Fig. .2, a longitudinal vertical section of the saine,taken in the line sv Fig. I. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are transverse sectionsoi' the same, taken, respectively, in the line s 1/ y, ,c z, z z.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe severalfigures.

This invention relates to an improved manner of attaching the cutters ofa sickle to its bar, as hereinafter fully shown and described,

whereby the cutters may be readily detached from their bar, whennecessary, for the purpose of replacing new ones, or i'or properlyguiding the saine, when necessary, and also readily attached to the bar.

In constructing a sickle with removable cutters the greatdiilicnlty tobe overcome is the tendency of the cutters to work loose under theircutting action, owing to metallic surfaces being exclusively vincontact, and consequently no elasticity allowed between them, whichdifficulty, it is believed, vis fully overcome by Iny invention.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the cutter-bar of a reciprocating sickle, and B are thecutters, which are of the usual V forni, as shown in Fig. l. The backparts, u, of these cutters-the portions which t on over the bar A-/areprovided with parallel sides, and said parts c are provided withtransverse slots b, one end of which is enlarged sufficiently to admitof pins c on the cutter passing through them, said pins being made tosecure the cutters to the bar by shoving the cutters laterally, so thatthe heads of the pins Inay cover the narrow parts of the slots, as shownat d, Figs. l and 5. Instead,

however, of the pins c being provided with heads, they may be grooved ateach side, and the narrow parts of the slots b made with beveled edgesto fit in the grooves, as shown at c. (See more particularly Figs. l and5.)

The outermost cutter (designated by B) is also attached to the bar A bypins and slots in the same way as the others, with the exception thatthe slots (designated by j) have a longitudinal position in theircutter, the enlarged parts f being at the front ends of the slots. Thisarrangement admits of alongitudinal adjustment of cutter B to its bar A,and is an important feature of the invention, as it renders the cutter Ba means for binding the other cutters rnily in position on the bar A.This result is attainedby having the inner side, g, of the back part ofcutter B of oblique forni, as in Fig. 1, so that the back end of saidcutter will be wider than any other part of it, and having the adjoiningside of the cutter next to it also of an oblique form, but in areversedirection or position to that of cutter B, as shown at bx. By giving theadjoining sides of these cutters the oblique form specified a wedge isobtained which causes the back parts of the cutters to bind snuglyagainst each other as cutter B/ is adjusted to bar A, as the cutter B isshoved forward in being secured to said bar. I Vhen the cutter B isproperly adj usted in position on bar A, it is iirmly secured thereto bya screw, II, or other suitable means.

By this invention the cutters may be attached to and detached from thecutter-bar A with the greatest facility, and when secured to the bar Athey will be firmly held in position, the cutter B causing them to abuttogether in a very iirm manner, so as tp effectually prevent all play orworking of the saine on the pins c, while the pins c, in consequence offitting in the slots b of the cutters, or in the slots z' of bar O, areheld rmly down on bar A.

I do not claim, broadly," a cutter-bar for sicklesprovided withremovable cutters, for such have been previously used; but

I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- Attaching thecutters B to the bar A by means of the longitudinally-adjust-able cutterB on the bar A, provided with an oblique Vinner side, g, at its backpart, and abutting against an oblique side, bx, of its adjoining cutterB, in combination with the pins c on the bar A and the grooves b in thecutters, and with or without the bar O, substantially as hereindescribed.

E. SMITH. Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. MONEORT, 'WiL EDWD. JoNEs.

